Creations, Collaborations & Craic
An Exhibition by John McGeoch
We are delighted to welcome you to attend the opening of the new exhibition by John McGeoch, on Fri. 11 Oct at 5.00pm, called Creations, Collaborations & Craic!
The show is a retrospective, a collection of Unrelinquished Remnants, Retrospectral Relics & the Occasional Gem!
This exhibition is a collection of some of the pathways and avenues that John has taken during his long career. It consists of games (all kinds! Roll up! Roll up!), paintings, sculptures, videos, animations, drawings, music, poetry and much more.
He has attempted to collect together some of the original objects, paintings, pieces of work that were instrumental in the various animations on show.
He will be tailoring these and some artworks by the members of Working Artist Studios for the Samhain Festival!
John will be the artist in residence for the month of October and will be lighting up the streets of Ballydehob with projections and eerily atmospheric additions.
Here’s what John himself says:
A Collection of unrelinquished Remnants
Relics & the occasional Gem.
I am a little like the proverbial Jack, moving from one thing to another, adding skills, following
minor obsessions, jumping first and swimming later. It`s led me here. ……Nice place!
This exhibition is a collection of some of the pathways and avenues that I have taken. My
background contained no art or music, I was streamed for academia and the like, Grammar school
style, and I am still finding my vocation! Music and performance was my opening into the world of
the `Arts` and slowly that expanded to include the visual arts. I have only recently become a maker
myself to any degree, usually I have worked with makers or painters using their work as the `found
object` that I then animate. So if it is only one thing that I must be, then it is probably an animator (
including, as from my performance background, as an animateur). Bringing things to life, whether a
sculpture, painting or an occasion!
I usually try not to do too much, not that it`s not a ton of work! A World, once found, soon
becomes inhabited and stories proliferate like mushrooms! Often the job is steering a path, keeping
a consistency, not letting that terribly useful but rather stilted rational mind get in charge of the
reins and come up with it`s `excellent`, but nearly always contrived ideas.
The creative process never stops and although this exhibition is an attempt to catalogue and show
some of the best bits of my journey, already going through them, there`s quite a few pieces I`d
like to polish more and even more that are still floating waiting to land …. and and and make some
exciting new pieces with exciting new people!
I have attempted to collect together some of the original objects / paintings / pieces of work that
were instrumental in the various animations on show. Where this has not been possible I have
tried to print or show as good a representation as possible of the original work / works from the
artist that I collaborated with. Sometimes this collaboration was cheek by jowl, others it was really
just permission and blessings to deconstruct their work and put it to another dimension.
Some of the works were made as stand alone pieces, others to complement a live performance
or theatre show. This is true of some of the sculptures too. Sculptures that I have made are often
linked to a story or a piece of poetry and recently I have brushed off my performance shoes by
engaging in more spoken word events. If only I still had a memory for words, but Aah … it`s ok to
read with spoken word!
Putting in the words is an integral part for me of the process and also the music or soundscape. I
work with various musicians and occasionally a project is music led, that is, a music video.
I have also brought some of my more sculptural games that I make. I (and an excellent team), run
a Steampunk real ale venue at a festival near Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland and I began
making large pub style games for that. It eventually led to a whole separate Arcade games tent
and Games Nights and the like. I try to make two or three a year. This year it was Hoop LaLaLa and
Skitty Kitty Skittle Kat!
Enough said! Come and see for yourself. John McGeoch
The show will run until 2nd Nov.